The Rolling Stones will play four large concerts later this year, including
two dates at London’s O2 Arena, according to reports in the US.

The veteran band, who this year celebrate their 50th year together, are set to play two shows in London in November as well as two at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York, it was reported on Billboard.biz, the entertainment website.

Confirmation of the concerts could come as soon as next week.

A message posted on the band’s official Facebook page this morning said that an unspecified announcement will be made next Tuesday.

“On Ruby Tuesday 4th September, some news is coming and we want you to be part of it,” the website said.

Billboard said that the concerts are being promoted by Richard Branson, the Virgin tycoon, and Paul Dainty, the Australian whose Dainty Group is the fifth largest concert promoter in the world.

According to the unnamed source, Billboard said that the band will be paid $25 million (£15.7 million) for the four shows.

The live dates would be the first concerts that the band have played since their A Bigger Bang world tour, which ended in 2007.

Any tickets are sure to be snapped up in minutes. Although the O2 in East London is a large venue with a capacity of around 20,000 people, it is far smaller than outdoor venues such as Wembley Stadium and Hyde Park, both of which the band have played in the past.

The O2 was where Led Zeppelin played a one-off reunion performance five years ago.

Last week Sir Mick Jagger increased already-fevered speculation that the Stones are preparing their comeback by posting a picture of himself on Twitter holding a guitar in a French recording studio.

‘Had fun in the Paris studio this week!’ he wrote.

Observers believe that the band was preparing new material to coincide with a world tour later this year to mark its Golden Jubilee.

Pictures were also released showing the four members of the band – Sir Mick, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood - emerging from the recording studio in the centre of the French capital.

Speaking at the opening of The Rolling Stones: 50 photography exhibition at London's Somerset House last month, Sir Mick said: “You will definitely be seeing us all together soon. It's been great fun being back together and there are a lot of memories in here. I can't believe it's been 50 years. We've been hanging out together, seeing quite a bit of each other and we want to do some gigs.”